Publication Date

1989

Description

The subhumid zone occupies approximately 20 % of West Africa and 50 % percent of Nigeria, subsaharan Africa's most populous country. It is characterised by receiv􀀁ng between 900 and 1500 mm of annual precipitation and havmg between 170 and 280 growing days per annum. Although the zone h􀀮s high agricultural potential it has been avoided by both c1;1ltiva!ors and pastoralists until recently mainly due to po􀀂r s01l f􀀅rtlhty and the endemic cattle disease, tryponosormas1s, earned by tsetse flies. Now increasing settlement of people is leading to ecological changes that are permitting the perma􀀌en􀀳 residei:ce of ruminant livestock. Clearing ofland for croppmg 1s reducmg tsetse habitats and game hunting is removing the alternative hosts for the trypanosome which in consequence becomes less virulent. At the same time the pastoralists are under pressure to stay in the zone because of the increasing frequency of droughts in the semi-arid and sahelian zones. The poor land capability limits biomass Rroduc!ivity well below what might be excepted from the high ramfall and number of growing days. The yield of herbaceous cover ranges between 2 to 2.5 tonnes of dry matter per hectare. This is reflected by comparatively low crop yields despite the selection of the best land for cropping, a fact that increasingly aggravates the grazing situation. The natural fallow grasses have very poor feed values. The feed value of the grasses remain above the maintenance feed level of 6 % crude protein for only about 3 months of the year. As the grasses head and mature their feed levels deteriorate rapidly. Burning is a common practice for clearing bush and hunting but the pastoralists al􀀑o 􀀒o it to initiate regrowth which has a higher feed value. This s1tuat1on_ is worsening as cultivation reaches further into the zone on to more marginal soils and occupy more of the grazing land. In 1978 the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA), in consultation with experts and experienced extension agents, identified poor nutrition in the dry season as t􀀷e most important problem in cattle production in the Subdum1d zone of West Africa (ILCA, 1979). This became the focu􀀘 􀀙f􀀚es􀀛arch by ILCA's newly formed subhumid zone mult1d1sc1plmary research team.

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Legume Pasture Units for Supplementing Cattle Grazing Rangeland Under Traditional Production Systems in the Nigerian Subhumid Zone

The subhumid zone occupies approximately 20 % of West Africa and 50 % percent of Nigeria, subsaharan Africa's most populous country. It is characterised by receiv􀀁ng between 900 and 1500 mm of annual precipitation and havmg between 170 and 280 growing days per annum. Although the zone h􀀮s high agricultural potential it has been avoided by both c1;1ltiva!ors and pastoralists until recently mainly due to po􀀂r s01l f􀀅rtlhty and the endemic cattle disease, tryponosormas1s, earned by tsetse flies. Now increasing settlement of people is leading to ecological changes that are permitting the perma􀀌en􀀳 residei:ce of ruminant livestock. Clearing ofland for croppmg 1s reducmg tsetse habitats and game hunting is removing the alternative hosts for the trypanosome which in consequence becomes less virulent. At the same time the pastoralists are under pressure to stay in the zone because of the increasing frequency of droughts in the semi-arid and sahelian zones. The poor land capability limits biomass Rroduc!ivity well below what might be excepted from the high ramfall and number of growing days. The yield of herbaceous cover ranges between 2 to 2.5 tonnes of dry matter per hectare. This is reflected by comparatively low crop yields despite the selection of the best land for cropping, a fact that increasingly aggravates the grazing situation. The natural fallow grasses have very poor feed values. The feed value of the grasses remain above the maintenance feed level of 6 % crude protein for only about 3 months of the year. As the grasses head and mature their feed levels deteriorate rapidly. Burning is a common practice for clearing bush and hunting but the pastoralists al􀀑o 􀀒o it to initiate regrowth which has a higher feed value. This s1tuat1on_ is worsening as cultivation reaches further into the zone on to more marginal soils and occupy more of the grazing land. In 1978 the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA), in consultation with experts and experienced extension agents, identified poor nutrition in the dry season as t􀀷e most important problem in cattle production in the Subdum1d zone of West Africa (ILCA, 1979). This became the focu􀀘 􀀙f􀀚es􀀛arch by ILCA's newly formed subhumid zone mult1d1sc1plmary research team.